Do you have a mobile site? Or, more importantly, is your mobile site any good? Common wisdom says that mobile is a key plank of any business’ marketing campaign. But our focus is on generating leads – does mobility help? The truth is, you never know when a potential customer, bored while waiting in line at the grocery store, will start to browse through your services.
Is It An Emergency?
But just how important is mobile, and how much time and money should you be investing in it? That depends on what sort of services you offer. If you’re a plumber you probably get your fair share of emergency calls, and any sort of emergency service should focus a lot of effort on mobile.
Customers will need to contact you on short notice, and they might not have access to their computers. They need to find you, and when they find you your site needs to be easy and accessible. If it’s an emergency, customers aren’t going to be concerned with reputation, reviews or even cost – if the water reaches their new carpet, fixing that will cost more than any plumber could.
Fast Help Is Needed
The main concern of people in this kind of an emergency situation is finding a plumber (which means having a great search ranking, and putting a lot of emphasis on mobile marketing) and then not being so put off by a mobile site that is poorly designed. In their already panicked state of mind, they could easily get frustrated and find another business. To ensure that your mobile advertising efforts pay off, site visitors need to find a site that’s simple and easy to use.
Not Everyone Is In Rush Mode
But what if you don’t offer emergency services? What if you build decks, or renovate bathrooms, or install gazebos? If there’s such a thing as an emergency gazebo I’ve yet to hear of it, although I’d be curious to hear the details. At any rate, mobile is important for you too, but not nearly as much.
Mobile – Yes, You Need It
You still want to have a crisp, clean site and do your best to market with mobile, because you never know when someone waiting at the DMV will start to wonder what their car would look like in a nice new garage. But since the number of leads you generate will be significantly fewer thanks to the very nature of your business, you should adjust the time and effort spent on mobile accordingly.
When it comes to mobile, the common wisdom is correct – it is important. But, as always, the matter is more complex than most people would have you believe. The sorts of services you offer are directly related to the approach you should take with your mobile campaign, so make sure you know whether your leads are coming from mobile or not. 
